Monthly Archives August 2017

In our research, we found 3 broad approaches that scholars use to define robots. These are (1) as artificial humans, (2) programmable machines, and (3) machines that can sense, think, and act on the world. None of these approaches offers a definition that works for all of the ways we already use the word. But they’re a start.

Welcome to the Robotic Future, in which we explore the many fascinating machines that are transforming society. And we can’t do that without first defining what a robot even is.

What is it, how does it work, and is autonomous war using AI drones such a good idea?

There’s a new kind of killer drone. Called TIKAD, it isn’t like any lethal drones you’re seen before. Because unlike the effective-yet-cumbersome MQ-9 Reapers, these multicopters can carry a sniper rifle, a grenade launcher, or a machine gun—the inevitable convergence of hobby drones and military weapons.

Big drones like the Reaper and its predecessor, the Predator, are controlled from thousands of miles away, orbit at five or ten thousand feet, and watch everything happening below. They strike with laser-guided AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, which are precise but hardly surgical, causing collateral damage and loss of life...

The year-long experiment will determine a supercomputer’s ability to function in space, with the idea of sending one to Mars.

(19 Feb. 2010) — Backdropped by Earth’s horizon and the blackness of space, the International Space Station is featured in this image photographed by an STS-130 crew member on space shuttle Endeavour after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 7:54 p.m. (EST) on Feb. 19, 2010.

The Spaceborne Computer, a joint experiment between NASA and HPE, will travel to the International Space Station (seen here).

Citing a worry over “cyber vulnerabilities,” the U.S. Army this week ordered that all drones built by China-based DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer be forthwith removed from Army service. The order comes following a classified study of the issue completed in May by the Army Research Laboratory, and the simultaneous release of a Navy memorandum titled “Operational Risks with Regards to DJI Family of Products.”